A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Deadline with Death (Time-Slip Mysteries #1) by Zara Keane

Dee Flanagan loves Irish history, bad rom-coms, and red lipstick. Dead clowns, injured time travelers, and shoot-outs don’t make it onto the small-town reporter’s Top Ten list. After the bullets stop flying in Dunleagh Castle’s courtyard, it’s up to Dee to convince people she didn’t imagine a gunfight played out between two centuries.

With the body count rising, and no one willing to believe Dee’s time travel theory, she’s forced to team up with a man who’s either a bona fide fruit cake or a police officer from the year 1919. Using her expert knowledge of the Irish War of Independence, Dee sets out to solve a century-old crime, plus a modern-day murder.

This to me is a comedic tale of a crazy and dysfunctional family with a soupçon of paranormal mystery added in for additional fun!

Dee Flanagan seems to be the only sane one in a family that prides itself on embracing the Woo factor, and in the case of her Nana also embracing souped up mobility scooters, gin/whiskey/poteen/any other alcohol of choice! Mind you Dee doesn't expect her day to go really drastically wrong, she starts off at an illegal cockfight (they were tipped off before she got there though that the Garda would be arriving and so nothing much happened), then has a run in with a mediocre clown, the same one she had arrested for sexual assault! however nothing tips the balance more in favour of "stop the world I want to get off" more than overhearing a gun fight, finding the aforementioned clown dead at her feet and another man dressed in period costume, also shot but at least still alive.  The weirdness ramps up when it is discovered that the bullets in both men are also historical.  With the unknown man in hospital Dee starts using her reporter's skills to try and find out what the heck happened, then things go from bad to worse and her ditzy, yoga and astrology loving Mother is arrested for murder.  This makes it personal and Dee is determined that no-one will railroad her Mam!

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

Dervorgilla Flanagan, but I go by Dee.

What is your Profession?

I’m a history vlogger and I makes ends meet by working as a reporter for the Dunleagh Chronicle.

What is your current favourite book or movie?

I have a weakness for rom-coms. My current fave movie is the Netflix Original, Always Be My Maybe.

What is your go to comfort book or movie? 

My fave comfort read is Jennifer Crusie’s ‘Welcome to Temptation’.

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?

I’d love to be Lara Croft, but only for a day. I think all the martial arts moves would wear me out.

What is your ideal evening?

Curled up in a comfortable armchair with a great book and a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 10 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

July 10 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

July 11 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 11 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 12 – Babs Book Bistro – GUEST POST

July 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 14 – Off

July 15 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

July 16 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW

July 17 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 18 – I’m All About Books – REVIEW

July 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

July 19 – Eskimo Princess Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 19 – ebook addicts – REVIEW

July 20 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

July 21 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

July 21 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

July 22 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 22 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 23 – Books Direct – GUEST POST

Love, Lies, and Azure Eyes by Janis Thornton

West Coast journalist Annie Sinclair’s career, not to mention her love life, has been on the skids far too long, when she returns to Logan Point, her small, Indiana hometown. She’s back to make amends with her elderly father, and to delve into the 25-year-old, unsolved murder of her high school classmate for a writing gig with a national tabloid.

Annie’s plans soon go awry, and her mettle is tested — first when her father warns her against digging into the past; and again, when she meets the Logan Point Ledger’s handsome, but exasperating, new editor; and again still, when she reconnects with her first love, who clearly wants to rekindle what once was.

But Annie’s most arduous test appears in the form of the earthbound spirit of a boy she once knew — the boy with the azure eyes accused of the murder she is looking into. He needs her to prove his innocence, so he can break the ties that bind him to the darkness. In exchange, he will set Annie free to realize that the love she yearns for is just within her reach … if only she will open her heart.

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?
Hello! I’m Annaliese Maureen Sinclair, although everyone calls me Annie, except for my bull-headed dad, who insists on calling me Girl.

I’m 43, for heaven’s sake, and it’s embarrassing. He’s called me Girl my entire life. When other dads were giving their daughters cute pet names, like Kitten or Princess, Charlie Sinclair endowed his daughter (and his only child, I might add) with a generic label. He claimed he’d heard it in an old Maureen O’Hara movie. He had always carried a torch for the red-headed queen of Hollywood’s golden era, and he admitted once that, when he first met his newborn baby girl with the head-full of wild red hair, the nickname seemed to fit. And so that was it. By my father’s decree, I would forever be burdened with the no-frills designation — Girl.

What is your profession?
I’m a freelance writer. After I graduated the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in journalism, I landed a job as an investigative reporter at the L.A. Voice, a highly reputed weekly newspaper located in Los Angeles. The elderly owner/publisher became my mentor, and after a couple of my criminal-investigation pieces won the paper some national awards, he vowed to promote me to publisher when his imminent retirement rolled around. Unfortunately, he suffered a massive heart attack and died before he put that promise in writing. As soon as his two sons, who had zero newspaper experience, took over, they let me go and quickly ran the Voice into the ground.

A freelance writing assignment about the 25-year-old unsolved murder of my high school classmate is what brought me back to my tiny, Indiana hometown, but it was my investigative skills that got me into trouble and kept me here.

What is your current favourite book or movie?
I never grow tired of reading any of Sue Grafton’s alphabet-series detective novels. I’m currently working on “Y Is for Yesterday.” I’m still mourning Sue’s passing and am deliberately taking my time with this book, her last, to savor every word. I never want it to end.

What is your go-to comfort book or movie?
Besides my penchant for any Grafton novel, I’m also partial to anything by the master of romance, Nicholas Sparks, particularly “The Notebook” — book or movie.

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?
If someone were to play me in a movie, naturally it would be one of my “twins” — Jessica Chastain or Bryce Dallas Howard. They are look-alike redheads, who resemble me so much that, back in my California days, their fans used to stop me and ask for an autograph.

If I were a character in a book, of course I would be Wonder Woman. Who wouldn’t want to be one of the world’s most beloved superheroes — a symbol of truth, purveyor of justice, and the savior of humankind? If not her, I’d gladly portray Mary Poppins for all the same reasons.

What is your ideal evening?
Are you kidding? My ideal evening would be curling up with a Nicholas Sparks or Sue Grafton novel, a bowl of buttered popcorn, and a bottle of white wine. Or a guy named Scott Wayne. Or all of the above.

Thank you! I appreciate your thought-provoking questions and the opportunity to tell your readers a bit about myself. •

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

June 12 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

June 13 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 13 – ⒾⓃⓉⓇⓄⓈⓅⒺⒸⓉⒾⓋⒺ ⓅⓇⒺⓈⓈ – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – ❧Defining Ways❧ – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 15 – MJB Reviewers – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 16 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

June 16 – 4covert2overt ☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼ – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 17 – Cozy Up With Kathy – SPOTLIGHT

June 17 – Books Direct – GUEST POST

June 18 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

June 18 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 19 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

June 19 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

June 20 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

June 21 – The Book Diva’s Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST  

June 22 – Brianne’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

June 22 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

June 23 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

June 24 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

June 25 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

When Sally Comes Marching Home by Richard Milton

In 1945, World War II is ending. For Major Sally Honeychurch the war is just beginning.

Major Sally Honeychurch has spent two years as an agent behind enemy lines. Now the war is over, the women who risked their lives are no longer needed. Sally is back in civvy street, haunted by the French Resistance lover who died in her arms.

When terrorists smuggle an atomic bomb into London, the Head of MI6 urgently summons her for one more mission. Sally has inside knowledge few possess. She was there when the first atom bomb was assembled and detonated.

Sally is the only woman among hundreds of soldiers and intelligence agents hunting the terrorists. And she uncovers a clue to their identity that will rock the establishment to its foundations. To save London, she must not only track down the conspirators, she must also battle the prejudices of the men in charge.

This book starts slowly and gently and then near to then end it suddenly goes into overdrive and you are rushed along gasping!

With the end of the war various units are disbanding or amalgamating, and the first casualties are the women (after all they should be happy to go back to being housewives!), Major Sally Honeychurch ends up back as a French teacher, when all of a sudden she is called back into active service.  She is one of the few people who have seen an atomic bomb, and she discovers that someone has brought one (or at least the parts to build one) into London!

Now she, and some ex-colleagues, are racing against the clock to find out who has arranged for this to happen and more importantly where and when!

Lies Sleeping (Rivers of London #7) by Ben Aaronovitch

Join Peter Grant, detective and apprentice wizard, for a brand new case . . .

Martin Chorley, aka the Faceless Man, wanted for multiple counts of murder, fraud, and crimes against humanity, has been unmasked and is on the run. Peter Grant, Detective Constable and apprentice wizard, now plays a key role in an unprecedented joint operation to bring Chorley to justice.

But even as the unwieldy might of the Metropolitan Police bears down on its foe, Peter uncovers clues that Chorley, far from being finished, is executing the final stages of a long term plan. A plan that has its roots in London’s two thousand bloody years of history, and could literally bring the city to its knees.

To save his beloved city Peter’s going to need help from his former best friend and colleague–Lesley May–who brutally betrayed him and everything he thought she believed in. And, far worse, he might even have to come to terms with the malevolent supernatural killer and agent of chaos known as Mr Punch . . .

A brilliant edition to the excellent Rivers of London series!

Peter has been promoted, he (Nightingale and Vavara) are training his cousin Abigail up as an apprentice wizard and life is going well with Beverly.  Everything should be great, except that the Faceless Man (aka Martin Chorley) is still out there and still causing problems - lots of problems, so the Folly has opened itself up slightly to allow members of the Police to be in there and work to solve the problem (Molly is in her element with large numbers of people to cook for and Toby the dog needs more exercise as he keeps being given treats!)

With Lesley starting to make contact with Peter again (which we are never sure if this is a good or a bad thing), it looks like something big is going down, magically, in London and Peter is in the thick of it ... again!

Circle of Influence (Zoe Chambers Mysteries #1) by Annette Dashofy

Zoe Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township, has been privy to a number of local secrets over the years, some of them her own. But secrets become explosive when a dead body is found in the Township Board President’s abandoned car. As a January blizzard rages, Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams launch a desperate search for the killer, even if it means uncovering secrets that could not only destroy Zoe and Pete, but also those closest to them.

An excellent start to a series! 5 stars (and counting), small town politics turns into small town murder and mayhem with Zoe Chambers and Police Chief Pete Adams trying to figure out who would want to kill Ted and leave his body in someone elses car.  Secrets are going to come out and emotions will run high before Pete and Zoe track down the killer.

Murder in the Museum (Inspector Shelley #6) by John Rowland

When Professor Julius Arnell breathes his last in the hushed atmosphere of the British Museum Reading Room, it looks like death from natural causes. Who, after all, would have cause to murder a retired academic whose life was devoted to Elizabethan literature? Inspector Shelley's suspicions are aroused when he finds a packet of poisoned sugared almonds in the dead man's pocket; and a motive becomes clearer when he discovers Arnell's connection to a Texan oil millionaire. Soon another man plunges hundreds of feet into a reservoir on a Yorkshire moor. What can be the connection between two deaths so different, and so widely separated? The mild-mannered museum visitor Henry Fairhurst adds his detective talents to Inspector Shelley's own, and together they set about solving one of the most baffling cases Shelley has ever encountered.

Hmm this isn't (in my view) the best of the British Library Crime Classics/Golden Age, granted it was short and therefore a quick read but it was jumping between characters too much and nothing seems to happen for ages and then WHAM we know what happened, quick jump in the train and get the criminal! I suspect this will be the only Rowland I will read.

Be Our Ghost: A Merry Ghost Inn Mystery (Merry Ghost Inn #3) by Kate Kingsbury

If bed-and-breakfast owners Melanie and Liza, along with their laughing ghost tenant, can’t find a real estate developer’s killer, their own estate will end up with their next of kin.

The Merry Ghost Inn is well and truly open for business. Melanie West and her grandmother, Liza, are rapidly getting the hang of running their charming bed-and-breakfast inn on the rocky Oregon coast. Not that business goes without a hitch—when your hostelry boasts its own laughing resident ghost, you’d better be expect the out-of-the-ordinary. But Melanie and Liza take it all in stride…until a hotshot real estate developer arrives in Sully’s Landing, touting his plans to build a tacky amusement arcade smack dab in the middle of the tasteful cliff-side town.

No one in Sully’s Landing can stand the gaudy developer, but it’s still a shock when he ends up murdered. It’s even more shocking when Liza’s friend, Doug, emerges as the chief suspect. Melanie and Liza put on their sleuthing caps yet again and set out to clear Doug’s name. But the ante is upped when Max, Melanie’s beloved sheepdog/wolfhound mix, disappears.

When Max reappears just as mysteriously as he vanished, with a threatening note attached to his collar, Melanie and Liza know the killer is on to them. They nearly check into accommodations six feet under when, en route to the crime scene, their brakes give out and they narrowly miss plunging over the cliffs to the beach below. Meanwhile, the merry ghost who haunts the inn tries to help by dropping clues for Melanie to find, but her mind is otherwise preoccupied when the killer kidnaps Liza and holds her prisoner.

Now, it’s up to Melanie to piece together the ghost’s clues, save her mother, exonerate her friend, keep her guests happy, and make sure Max gets his walkies in Kate Kingsbury’s third mirthful Merry Ghost Inn mystery, Be Our Ghost.

Another brilliant visit to The Merry Ghost Inn, and it is wonderful to catch up with Liza, Mel, Cindi and of course Max (oh and Orville/Arthur the aforementioned Merry Ghost!) Even though this is set in the run up to Summer it still makes a perfect Halloween read!

Sully's Landing seems the perfect seaside town, shops to wander in, the quirky Hardware Store with the bar/eaterie in it, the B & B and above all the peace and quiet makes it the ideal place to unwind, but changes could be afoot, a Developer wants to take over a few of the stores in the centre of the town and change them into an arcade with gambling machines, fast food places and everything tacky, before he can he needs to get a majority vote from the Town Council on changing the rules for the town and he seems to think that won't be a problem, but Doug (the Hardware owner) and a couple of others are hoping to block it.  The plans are blocked well and truly though a few days later when the Developer is killed and Doug is the prime suspect for the murder (although the others at the meeting are also in the frame).  With Liza determined to prove Doug's innocence, Mel and Liza start to investigate, only to discover they may be getting too close for comfort to the killer when Max (their rescue dog) is kidnapped, and then the brakes on their car are cut.

Now they really need to put their virtual deerstalkers on before they join Orville in the afterlife.

A Gentleman's Murder by Christopher Huang

The year is 1924, and Lieutenant Eric Peterkin, formerly of the Royal Fusiliers, is a new member of the Britannia―London’s most prestigious club. It's a family tradition, but an honor he's not sure he quite deserves. So, when a gentleman's wager ends with one man dead in the vault under the club, Eric is only too ready to tackle the mystery head on.

Eric’s quest to resolve the murder quickly becomes an investigation of a mysterious wartime disappearance. It draws him far from the marbled halls of the Brittania, to the shadowy remains of a dilapidated war hospital to the heroin dens of Limehouse. Eric faces a Matryoshka doll of murder, vice, and secrets pointing not only to the officers of his own club but the very investigator assigned by Scotland Yard.

Threatened with expulsion and dogged by the racist shadows of the Great War, Eric presses on nonetheless. But can he snare the killer before his own membership becomes a thing of yesterday?

Eric Peterkin is the latest Peterkin to be a member of the Britannia Club, a rather exclusive club for those involved in the forces.  When a new member joins, and is unwisely dragged into a bet with another member (Wolfe), Peterkin agrees to be the referee, the bet is that Wolfe can break into the vault and then Benson's box within the vault and bring an item to show he has done so, with the bet laid Benson shows Peterkin what is in the box so he can clarify as to whether Wolfe has succeeded or not.

It all seems to be great fun until Benson doesn't arrive at the time to bet has to be completed by, and then Cully (one of the staff and known to all as Old Faithful) and Peterkin discover his very dead body in the vault.  With the members of the Britannia closing ranks, the police officer in charge seen by Peterkin to have pocketed evidence and no one being prepared to stand up for Benson, Peterkin takes it upon himself to find out the truth, leading to danger and more death, and possibly either Peterkin being either blackballed from the club, or possibly killed!

A slow and steady read with the occasional frantic interlude, a very good imitation of the authors of the Golden Age of Crime - Huang can set his standard up among them for me!